Assisted Living Homes vs. Home Care: How to Decide – Part 2

Tips to Help You Choose

Even if you thoroughly understand the details of how assisted living homes and in-home care work, that does not mean this is an easy decision. This is an important step in your life or the life of your loved one, and you want to make sure you make the right choice. These tips should help you feel more confident making this decision.

First Step – Determine How Much Help You (or Your Loved One) Needs

Before you make any decisions, you must figure out the exact needs of your loved one. Once you understand these needs, you can compare them to the help that is already available. Start by making a list of everything your loved one needs assistance with on a monthly, weekly and daily basis. This will give you a clear picture of the right level of care required.

Then you need to really think about how much you, your family and friends can actually help. It is essential that you look at this based on the long-term. Your loved one may need ongoing care for years, so a few months of help will likely not be enough.

After looking at both of these lists, you will have a better idea of how much additional help will be required. This may make your decision on in-home care or assisted living immediately clear, and it may not. Either way, it will be a very helpful tool as you continue.

Evaluate the Pros and Cons

Obviously, both assisted living homes and in-home care services offer some great benefits, but both also have disadvantages based on your specific situation. As with any comparison, a simple pro and con analysis can be very helpful.
Although deciding between assisted living homes and home care can be stressful, you’ve already taken a big step toward making the right decision by learning more about both of these solutions. You’ll find the perfect care option soon!

In-Home Care

Pros

It allows the individual to benefit from one-on-one care that can be tailored to meet their unique preferences and needs.

The senior gets to remain in the comfort of their own home or the home of a close relative as they get older.

The senior, along with their family and friends, have the opportunity to choose the person who will be providing care.

Instead of receiving care from many different caregivers, the individual can get comfortable with one caregiver.

Depending on when the care is needed and the skill level of the care required, in-home care can cheaper.

Different types of care can be combined to lower overall costs.

Cons

When 24/7 care is required, the costs can be very high.

The managing of caregivers and backup care planning requires continued family involvement.

While living in the home has its benefits, it can also lead to social isolation. This, in turn, can contribute to an array of health problems like depression and cognitive decline.

The home may need to be modified for wheelchair accessibility or safety precautions.

In-home care will not take care of several important tasks such as housekeeping, grocery shopping, home maintenance and personal care.

Assisted Living

Pros

Assisted living homes are more affordable when 24/7 care is required.

It allows the family to focus more on their relationship with the senior.

Residents have ample opportunities to socialize with others.

The family will not have to manage, schedule or hire caregivers.

The level of care can easily be increased as necessary

Cons

Since frequent changes to the staff are common, one-on-care won’t be as consistent.

The quality of care can differ depending on the specific staff members.

In some cases, residents may get kicked out of their assisted living home for a long list of reasons with little to no advanced notice.